Christmas has arrived! We are happy if we have warmth and manage to give love and a smile to the people around us. The Christmas mood is in the hearts, in the lights, the decorations and... in the songs. "For all of us, the bright holiday days at the end of the year are filled with different hopes, but over the years, hope has rather turned into an expectation to gather with our closest people," says Dimitar Atanasov, author of the music for one of the beautiful Bulgarian holiday songs – “Koleda doide” ("Christmas has Arrived").

Dimitar is known for his participation in two television music formats broadcast over the years in Bulgaria, but they are not his debut on stage. In 2004, he participated for the first time with his song in the "Burgas and the Sea" song contest. In 2006 he made his debut as a soloist of the Big Band of the Bulgarian National Radio. In 2016, he won the grand prize in the Bulgarian National Radio competition "Golden Spring". We have chosen to present to you his song "Christmas has Arrived", in which the composer combines bagpipes and violin with modern pop sound. The lyrics by Bistra Aleksandrova describe the beauty and cosiness of Christmas days, shared with our closest people. When it was created in 2009, the song topped the internet chart for the most liked new Bulgarian Christmas song.

Two years later, the composer made a second version of this song, this time for the vocal ensemble "Fortissimo" and the duet in which he participates - "Dimitar and Hristo". In addition to these two official versions, "Christmas has Arrived" also has many covers performed by bands from all over the country.

The song is also part of the album by Dimitar Atanasov and Hristo Mladenov, released in 2020:

"In the album called ‘The Best Time’ I decided to include songs with an entirely positive topic. It was the first such Christmas, when people all over the world and Bulgarian musicians needed some hope. It is available on the Internet and at the end of the album you can hear both this song and another one, which we called My Christmas," the musician tells Radio Bulgaria.

"At the moment he is a journalist, but music is far from just a hobby for him. It was extremely difficult to find the right assistant for him to help him in his everyday life. I am glad that now there is one who is also a musician and I am glad that thanks to him, the music studio that Kristiyan is working on will also become a fact."

Christmas is a time of fulfilment and hopes, which has different dimensions as our life path progresses, Dimitar Atanasov says and adds:

"For me Christmas is the time when I manage to find new inspiration, take stock and partly plan the next musical year. Maybe it would be good to take stock of the positive deeds that we have done as people towards each other. I hope that every Bulgarian carries deep within themselves a hope for the power of good deeds. Let us believe that every action has its consequences, so let this action be positive."

Publication in English: Alexander Markov

Photos:Facebook /Dimitar Atanasov, YouTube /Sing Song Studio